10 Spooky Documentaries That’ll Scare The Hell Out Of You

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You may like horror movies a lot, but you generally watch those films with the confidence of knowing that the stories are all fiction. How about horror documentaries? Here are 10 seriously scary documentaries that will creep the hell out of you with stories based on real life events!

1. Killer Legends (2014)

Four timeless urban legends continue to haunt the psyche of the American public. This documentary follows filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Rachel Mills as they investigate the true crimes that may have spawned these urban legends, while exploring how these myths evolved and why we continue to believe. The documentary probes the following legends: The Candyman: The film travels viewers to Houston, Texas, to explore the legend of tainted candy that strikes fear in parents every Halloween. Though the legend is prolific, in actuality there is only one documented case of a child dying from tainted candy: 8-year-old Timothy O'Bryan. Timothy was poisoned on Halloween by a real life monster who used the legend to hide his crime, earning him the nickname, The Candyman. The Baby-Sitter and the Man Upstairs: As the legend goes, a babysitter tormented by a twisted caller, learns that the sadistic calls are coming from inside the house.

2. Kids For Cash (2013)

Kids For Cash is a riveting look behind the notorious judicial scandal that rocked the nation. Beyond the millions paid and high stakes corruption, Kids For Cash exposes a shocking American secret. In the wake of the shootings at Columbine, a small town celebrates a charismatic judge who is hell-bent on keeping kids in line...until one parent dares to question the motives behind his brand of justice. This real life thriller reveals the untold stories of the masterminds at the center of the scandal and the chilling aftermath of lives destroyed in the process - a stunning emotional roller coaster.

3. Quiet Rage: The Stanford Prison Experiment (1992)

Philip Zambardo recalls details of the Stanford Prison Experiment of 1971, including the terrifying psychological reasonings behind the students’ actions in the case study.

4. Confessions of a Serial Killer: Jeffrey Dahmer (2012)

In February 1994, NBC's Stone Phillips met serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer for his only network television interview. He traveled to the prison with Jeffrey Dahmer's father, Lionel, and his step-mother, Shari. An innocent Midwestern boy and a withdrawn and peculiar teen, Jeffrey Dahmer lived a ghastly double life as an adult, ultimately becoming known as one of the most notorious and grotesque serial killers in America. Dahmer killed 17 young men, and even turned to cannibalism. Through an exclusive interview with Dahmer, as well as with his mother and father, this program takes an extended look inside the mind of a serial killer.

5. Cropsey (2009)

Realizing the urban legend of their youth has actually come true; two filmmakers delve into the mystery surrounding five missing children and the real-life boogeyman linked to their disappearances.

6. Titicut Follies (1967)

Documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater where people stay trapped in their madness.

7. Capturing the Friedmans (2003)

In the late 1980's, the Friedmans - father and respected computer and music teacher Arnold Friedman, mother and housewife Elaine Friedman, and their three grown sons, David Friedman, Seth Friedman and Jesse Friedman - of Great Neck, Long Island, are seemingly your typical middle class American family. They all admit that the marriage was by no means close to being harmonious - Arnold and Elaine eventually got divorced - but the sons talk of their father, while also not being always there for them, as being a good man. This façade of respectability masks the fact that Arnold was buying and distributing child pornography. Following a sting operation to confirm this fact, the authorities began to investigate Arnold for sexual abuse of the minor-aged male students of his computer classes, which he held in the basement of the family home.

8. The Bridge (2006)

The touristy Golden Gate Bridge has a dark side to it — many, many people commit suicide off the landmark every year. The Bridge recounts some of the incredibly tragic deaths that have taken place, including viewpoints from the victims’ family and friends.

9. There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane (2011)

The accident made national headlines: a suburban mother drove the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway in upstate New York and crashed head-on into an SUV, killing herself and seven others. In the aftermath, Diane Schuler was portrayed as a reckless drunk and a mother who cracked. But was she the monster the public made her out to be...or the perfect wife and mother that many say she was? Investigating the case six months after the accident, this documentary searches for answers to a mysterious and senseless tragedy.

10. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)

In 2001, Andrew Bagby, a medical resident, is murdered not long after breaking up with his girlfriend. Soon after, when she announces she's pregnant, one of Andrew's many close friends, Kurt Kuenne, begins this film, a gift to the child. Friends, relatives, and colleagues say warm and loving things about Andrew, home movies confirm his exuberance. Andrew's parents, Kathleen and David, move to Newfoundland, Canada where the ex-girlfriend has gone. They await an arrest and trial of the murderer. They negotiate with the ex-girlfriend to visit their grandchild, Zachary, and they seek custody. Is there any justice; is Zachary a sweet and innocent consolation for the loss of their son?